The theoretical component of professional training for counselling psychologists is recognised, if not assumed, to be important by those in the field. Currently, several models of therapy are taught to trainees, each with its own theoretical approach to understanding and working in the therapeutic setting. This study considered the helpfulness of theory in practice and explored this with the research question ‘how do trainees make sense of their emotional responses to clients in practice, and what is the impact of theory on the way they make sense of this experience’. Twelve counselling psychologists in the final stages of training participated in semi-structured interviews with the researcher. A grounded theory analysis found eight categories in total. The overarching category, ‘the trainee’s relationship with theory’, indicated that theoretical learning was a social process that became incorporated into trainees’ developing professional identities, and that it evolved during the course of their training. The impacts of theory were found to be both helpful and problematic, and identifiable in four categories: ‘theory reveals the trainee’s experience’, ‘theory conceals the trainee’s experience’, ‘theory raises uncertainty in the trainee’, and, ‘the trainee’s inability to perceive the impact of theory’. The remaining three categories ‘the trainee’s personal and professional development’, ‘the nature of the trainee’s relationships’, and ‘relieving the impact of the trainee’s experience’ described factors influencing trainees’ relationship with theory, and the degree to which each impact category was experienced. The research findings open dialogue about: the disadvantages (alongside the advantages) of using one’s reflective practice. These implications are discussed.

Previous studies have suggested that becoming a counsellor takes place according to stages and that development can be explained through the achievement of specified tasks. The professional training process is also understood to give rise to considerable anxiety with this traditionally conceptualised as a predominately negative experience hindering the learning process. The aims of the current study were: 1) to understand and identify how counselling psychology trainees make sense of and experience their development in becoming counselling psychologists, 2) to understand how anxiety is implicated in trainees’ growth and development into becoming counselling psychologists, and 3) through the application of an empirical existential phenomenological framework to promote an alternative perspective to the dominant medical model in relation to anxiety and the meaning attached to this experience in the process of becoming a counselling psychologist. Five trainee counselling psychologists and two recently qualified counselling psychologists were interviewed for this research project. The phenomenological analysis identified situated structural descriptions with the themes from these individual accounts forming the basis of a general structural description of the phenomenon of anxiety in becoming a counselling psychologist. By means of this existential phenomenological analysis, the multiple meanings attached to the experience of becoming with reference to anxiety were investigated. Two important findings emerged namely; 1) anxiety was not a negative, debilitating process for the trainees and 2) that counselling psychology’s pluralist theoretical affiliations whilst anxiety provoking contributed to the depth of transformation experienced by trainees. By adopting a pluralistic stance ambiguity was found to be prevalent in the experience of anxiety; this opened up the possibilities for becoming for this group of trainees. Therefore a non

This inquiry adopts the non-dualist stance of Merleau-Ponty regarding embodiment, where the “body” is considered to be a socially embedded lived experience (Merleau-Ponty, 1945/1962), and considers whether this concept is useful to counselling psychologists who work with individuals with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. The study adopts a horizonal structure arising from understandings of Gadamer’s (1960) hermeneutics, which requires an awareness of the limitations afforded by different perspectives. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with eight practitioners of psychotherapy, who have experience with individuals diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. They are invited to speak about their experience of practice with these individuals, then to respond to a Merleau-Ponty quote regarding embodiment and to consider its usefulness in their work. Interview transcripts are thematically analysed (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Initial themes conceptualise anorexia nervosa as emotional control and denial of needs; where it is helpful to have a model of understanding; understand weight issues but don’t’ talk about food and weight, be aware of power-relations and avoid control battles, overemphasising weight gain and refeeding; and to understand ambivalence and work motivationally. The findings suggest practitioners use knowledge, in the form of theories, to provide structure and a familiar language with which to explore clients’ unfamiliar worlds. Embodied views are found to open up conceptualisations regarding ontology and embeddedness, where “anorexia” becomes an ontological split, with controlling minds punishing bodies, where words aren’t enough and the symptoms are a paradoxical solution to problems of power and agency. The study finds engaging with embodied views highlights the embedded nature of being, opens up ambiguity, challenges dichotomies and acknowledges non-psychological aspects of existence and practice. It is suggested this supports the humanistic value base of counselling psychology practice by raising awareness of the ways in which the use of theory iii can help and hinder intersubjective contact with clients and the importance of embodying hermeneutic openness.

Background and objectives: A thesis is a requirement of the doctoral counselling psychology programme and plays an important role in forming an identity as a trainee counselling psychologist. While extensive research exists for doctorate experiences in general, less is known about the experiences of trainee counselling psychologists undertaking a thesis in the United Kingdom. The rationale behind this study is therefore to explore how trainee counselling psychologists perceive and make meaning of their experiences and how they go about writing their doctoral thesis. Method and analysis: A qualitative design was employed to answer the research question. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with twenty trainee counselling psychologists who were either starting to write their thesis or at the stage of almost completing it. A grounded theory analysis was used in this study, which aims to generate a theory based on categories that have been discovered from the data. Several strategies were employed in this study to demonstrate the rigour and trustworthiness in a qualitative design. Findings: The results of this study show that two categories emerged from the data: (1) obstacles in completing a thesis and (2) positive perspective towards undertaking a thesis. The theory that emerged from this study shows that trainee counselling psychologists have both positive and negative experiences which appear to fluctuate during the process of undertaking a thesis and vary from person to person due to individual circumstances. It is vital not to envisage a dichotomy between the positive and negative experiences, which form a natural and necessary journey for all doctoral students. Conclusions: The trainee counselling psychologists' experiences of undertaking a thesis can be viewed as an emotional and multifaceted journey. Overall, the shared experiences of trainee counselling psychologists undertaking a doctoral thesis was a valuable contribution to this study. The paper discusses avenues for further research alongside some practical recommendations that might be useful for trainee counselling psychologists undertaking a doctoral thesis.

Aims: This study aims to use trainee counselling psychologists' conceptualisations and experiences to create a research-informed model of self-care and stress. In order to do this, the study integrated the basic tenets of humanistic psychology, theory relating to human potentiality and motivation, pluralistic practice and the relevant research literature around self-care and stress in trainee counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists. Methods: The study was qualitative in nature and utilised a theory-building case study design. The research participants where 12 trainee counselling psychologists enrolled on a Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology in the United Kingdom. A research-informed model of self-care and stress was developed from the relevant research and theory literature. The findings from the 12 semi-structured interviews with the trainees were applied to this model in order to contextualise and refine it. Findings: The data from the interviews was analysed using a thematic analysis and the following categories and themes were discovered: category one - conceptualisations of self-care with caring for self, caring for others and self-actualising as its lower order themes; category two - self-care strategies, with keeping work-life in balance, caring for my physical well-being, getting support from other people and realising there is more to life as its lower order themes; category three -conceptualisations of stress with theoretical understandings of stress, physical impact of stress and psychological impact of stress as its lower order themes; the final category - sources of stress with demands and pressures, financial strains, unhealthy relationships and personal and professional development as its lower order themes. Discussion: The revised research-informed model suggests a number of goals, tasks and methods of self-care and a number of practical examples for each of these areas. According to the model, the goals of self-care involve nurturing trainees' potentiality to become fully functioning trainee counselling psychologists through learning to care for self, others and self-actualising. The tasks of self-care are promoting trainees' wellbeing through meeting their training needs (social support, academic, developmental and placement). Finally, the model suggests the methods of self-care should encourage intentional individual and organisational engagement in strategies which enable trainees to meet their training needs. The study recommends the model is applicable to counselling psychology regulatory bodies and training programmes, as well as individual trainee counselling psychologists. It also proposes further development of the model through research and testing.

This qualitative study aimed to trace the psychotherapeutic development of clinical and counselling psychologists across the careerspan within the South African context. Through purposive sampling 34 psychologists were recruited according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Five distinct career levels were explored, namely, student (n=10), intern (n=7), early career (n=7), experienced (n=5), and senior (n=5) psychologists in relation to the Society of Psychotherapy Research’s international model of psychotherapist development. By means of semi-structured interviews, couched in the social constructionist position, participants’ experiences were thematically analysed from over 600 pages of transcription. Additionally, the researcher’s personal journey of developing as a psychotherapist was reflected upon. The current study found that a number of aspects fostered the development of psychotherapists. Participants reflected on personal and familial wounding events that influenced them choosing a career as a psychologist; this awareness was gradual over their development. Across theoretical orientations, participants resisted adhering to one way of working in light of the diverse South African context. However, the need to limit the number of theoretical orientations taught within the first months of training was proposed. Professional sources of influence highlighted by participants were personal therapy and peer supervision or reading groups. Qualified professionals to a lesser extent made use of individual supervision which when pursued needed to be a ‘felt’ collaboration. Participants found as they developed they became more comfortable being a psychotherapist however the complexity of cases still kept them humble. Limitations of the study, potential future research directions as well as recommendations for practicing clinical and counselling psychology were outlined. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)